“CST Field Notes” – Oct. ’23

Hello!

I hope this finds you well. I want to express my deep appreciation for the many kind and encouraging responses I received after my last email, announcing my return to practice. To be honest, it kind of blew me away. Thank you so much.

I’ve decided to continue writing a little each month. My plan is to let you know something about what I’m learning, describe some aspect of my approach to health and manual therapy, or to pass along some bit of CST-related news that I hope you will find helpful. For those who receive these notes by email, I promise I will keep them short and to the point and… if you ever want to opt out, there will be a quick and easy way to do that – no questions, no problem.

So.. here we go!

CranioSacral Therapy – What ARE We Doing, Anyway?

In sessions, I often attempt to wrap words around what I’m noticing as I work with you. I may also ask questions about what you notice. Our bodies are able to communicate a LOT about what is going on inside through the sensations we feel.

Will we choose to pay attention? That’s really the big question. In each session, we have the opportunity to pay attention – together. I think that the more we actively “listen” to what our bodies are trying to tell us, the better able we are to participate in (and improve!) our own health.

Have you ever wished you could explain to someone what CranioSacral Therapy is? Scroll halfway down my “About CST” page to watch Kate Mackinnon, a colleague of mine, explain the basics of CST and what a typical session is like.

Supporting the Body in its Healing

At its core, CranioSacral Therapy relies on the body’s innate wisdom and its inherent ability to heal itself. For all the study of anatomy and physiology that I will ever do, YOU will always know more about what is going on in your body and what it needs than I ever will. That knowledge may not be at a conscious level, but it is there and profound things can happen when we connect with it.

I find these mysteries intriguing –  and I LOVE learning about the body and how it works!
Are you interested in learning about some of the more “stealthy” work your body does? Check out this overview of our autonomic nervous system, courtesy of the Cleveland Clinic:

Autonomic Nervous System in the News

Because our “autonomic nervous system” is responsible for such varied and far reaching function in our bodies, we can get in a lot of trouble really quickly when things go wrong.

The term “dysautonomia” refers to when our autonomic nervous system is not working well. I’ve noticed that dysautonomia has been showing up in health related news a lot lately and this has caught my interest. One disorder I’ve found particularly interesting is a collection of symptoms referred to as “POTS”.

What is “POTS”? Here’s a quick 4 minute video to give an introduction.

New At Cascade CranioSacral Therapy

• I’ve made the move back to my original website: cascadecst.com and email address: karen@cascadecst.com

• I’ve rolled the definition of “senior” back to 65 for my senior discount. It’s a GREAT discount – please take advantage of it!

• I’ve added Saturday morning hours as well as later hours on Tuesdays

• I’ve added new discounts for payments by cash and check

• Holidays are just around the corner: Gift Certificates are available online and in the clinic

Hope to see you soon!